Like-for-like revenue increased by 3.3% in the 2011 financial year relative to 2010The operating margin[2] rose by 7.8% to ¤129.9m, or an operating margin rate of 7.4% (+30 basis points relative to 2010)Despite an increase in non-recurring restructuring charges, attributable net income reached an all-time record, rising by 26.4% to ¤55mUnderlying diluted earnings per share improved by 23.4% to ¤2.73

On March 2, 2012, the Supervisory Board of Groupe Steria SCA examined the consolidated financial statements submitted by the General Management.

Annual consolidated results 2011

2010
Corrected[3]

2011

Organic growth
At constant perimeter and currency

Revenue

¤m

1,692.7

1,747.7

3.3%

Operating margin[2] % of revenue

¤m
%

120.4
7.1%

129.9
7.4%

Operating income[4]

¤m

81.6

81.9

Attributable net income

¤m

43.5

55.0

% of revenue

%

2.6%

3.1%

Underlying attributable net income[5]

¤m

71.7

90.5

Underlying diluted earnings per share5

¤

2.21

2.73

Shareholders' equity

¤m

721.2

766.4

Net financial debt

¤m

101.2

125.9

Revenue

2011 consolidated revenue

In ¤ million

2010

2011

Growth

Revenue

1,692.7

1,747.7

3.2%

Change in consolidation scope

-

Change due to currency effect

-0.6

Pro-forma revenue

1,692.1

1,747.7

3.3%

2011 revenue by geographic region

In ¤ million

2010*

2011

Organic growth

United Kingdom

651.0

656.5

0.8%

France

528.5

551.7

4.4%

Germany

237.5

239.8

1.0%

Other Europe

275.1

299.8

9.0%

Total

1,692.1

1,747.7

3.3%

* Like-for-like revenue (2011 base)

2011 revenue by business line

In ¤ million

2010**

2011

Organic growth

Infrastructure Management and
Business Process Outsourcing

645.0

675.4

4.7%

Consulting and Systems Integration

1,047.0

1072.3

2.4%

** Like-for-like revenue (base 2011 base)

Fourth quarter 2011 revenue by geographic region

In ¤ million

Q4 2010*

Q4
2011

Organic growth

United Kingdom

173.5

169.7

-2.2%

France

145.1

150.6

3.8%

Germany

63.1

61.2

-3.0%

Other Europe

77.9

88.9

14.0%

Total

459.6

470.4

2.3%

* Like-for-like revenue (2011 base)

Operational performance 2011

In 2011, the Group saw a growth resurgence in organic growth at 3.3% (+1.5% in 2010) with a positive dynamic across all geographic regions, including the United Kingdom. Growth was notably driven by the public sector (+2.7%), and the Utilities/Energy/Transport (+7.3%) sector while Finance (stable) and Telecommunications (-4,7%) were less favourable.

This performance was achieved despite instability in the European markets from the beginning of the second half of 2011. In this regard, the fourth quarter of 2011 proved very resilient with organic growth of 2.3% and new orders entry similar to the fourth quarter of 2010.

Over the 2011 financial year as a whole, new orders entry were stable (+0.5% relative to 2010). At December 31, 2011, the book to bill ratio stood at 1.04 (versus 1.07 at end 2010).

Over the financial year, the Group's operating margin2 improved by 7.8% to ¤129.9m, leading to an operating margin rate of 7.4% (+30 basis points relative to 2010).

This performance takes into account, in 2011, the ongoing investment in reinforcing the product portfolio and deploying high-performance common tools. This investment, of which first effects are starting to emerge, is aimed at strengthening the Group's profitable growth model.

In the United Kingdom, in line with expectations, like-for-like revenues saw a modest 0.8% progression, underpinned by a good performance from the public sector where revenues grew by 3.6% and from BPO which posted organic growth of 15.7%. Note also that NHS SBS[6], the joint-venture between Steria and the National Health Service, recorded organic revenue growth of 17.2% over the year.

Orders entry increased by 8.2% in the fourth quarter 2011, enabling the book to bill ratio to reach 1.0 at December 31, 2011.

In a very competitive market, the robustness of the Group's model was illustrated by the continued high level of the operating margin rate which stood at 10.6%, a 20 basis points increase compared to 2010.

In France, revenue growth was strong including during the fourth quarter. Organic growth amounted to 4.4% over the year benefiting from a good performance in Banking and Insurance (+11.5%) and the Public sector (+4.5%). Orders entry increased by 11.2% over the year and the book to bill ratio stood at 1.1 at December 31, 2011.

In 2011, the operating margin2 rose by 5.5% to ¤37.3m, leading to an operating margin rate of 6.8%, up by 10 basis points relative to the previous year.

In Germany, the trend was positive in the Public Sector, Telecommunications and Transportation but negative in the Finance sector which limited growth to 1.0% over the year. The Group's position with major German banking institutions was, however, significantly strengthened in 2011 thanks to a successful breakthrough in recurring business through the winning of large applications maintenance contracts, an area from which the Group had hitherto been absent. The outlook is positive with orders entry up by 25.7% relative to the previous year. At December 31, 2011, the book to bill ratio stood at 1.2.

In Other Europe, like-for-like revenues progressed by 9.0% with strong growth in Scandinavia (+10%), Switzerland (+9.8%) and Belgium/Luxembourg (+19.3%) whilst the decrease in Spain was reduced to -5.4%.

At December 31, 2011, the book to bill ratio was 1.0.

The materialisation, in particular, of a number of project risks in the first half, particularly in Denmark - risks which are now under control - led to a 30 basis point deterioration in the operating margin rate2 to 5.6%.

Financial year 2011

Other income and operating expenses amounted to ¤43.3m, up by ¤9.2m relative to 2010 principally due to an increase in restructuring and integration costs (¤22.9m over the year) and a ¤3.6m charge, with no cash impact, linked to a goodwill write-down in Sweden.

Net financial expense saw a significant improvement over the financial year to ¤7.2m versus ¤20.9m in 2010 mainly due to the fall in the average cost of financing and an increased return on the Group's cash deposit.

Despite an increase in non-recurring expenses over the year, 2011 attributable net income reached an all-time high of ¤55m, a 26.4% increase on 2010.

Financial situation at the end of the 2011 financial year

At December 31, 2011, the Group's net financial debt, whose slight increase over the year can be explained notably by negative currency effects (¤15m) and one-off costs linked to buildings optimisation (¤11m), amounted to ¤125.9m.

At the closing date, net financial debt represented 0.8 times the Group's EBITDA.

The renewal of all the Group's bank credit facilities amounting to ¤600m in June 2011 has secured the Group's financing until June 2016.

Dividends

The solidity of the Group's financial situation and the operational outlook leads the General Management, the Groupe Steria SCA Supervisory Board and the Soderi Board of Directors to propose a dividend[7] of ¤0.35 per share (¤0.24 in respect of 2010), in respect of the 2011 financial year.

Outlook

For the 2012 financial year, in the current uncertain economic environment, the Group is targeting a slight organic revenue growth with an operating margin rate2 comparable to the three last years. Free cash flow generation should return to its normative level.

An information meeting on the 2011 annual results will take place on Tuesday March 6, 2012 at 10h00 CET and will be retransmitted by webcast at www.steria.com (investors section)
Next publication: first quarter 2012 revenue on Friday May 4, 2012 before the market opening

(*) After amortisation of the customer relationships recognised on the acquisition of Xansa and amounting to ¤(4 672) thousand for the 2011 financial year and ¤(4 724) thousand for the 2010 financial year.

Consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2011

31/12/2011

31/12/2010
corrected

Goodwill

744,456

727,977

Other intangible assets

71,072

67,041

Property, plant and equipment

58,642

70,365

Investments in associates

10,938

7,941

Available-for-sale financial assets

2,273

1,808

Other financial assets

3,484

3,234

Retirement benefit assets

58,212

44,592

Deferred tax assets

27,332

14,149

Other non-current assets

3,418

3,525

Non-current assets

979,826

940,632

Inventories

9,218

8,165

Net trade receivables and similar accounts

299,468

271,031

Amounts due from customers

176,345

167,164

Other current assets

31,225

31,731

Current portion of non-current assets

3,565

3,743

Current tax assets

35,213

28,160

Prepaid expenses

23,001

24,043

Cash and cash equivalents

170,369

177,246

Current assets

748,403

711,283

Non-current assets classified as held for sale

9,095

0

Total assets

1,737,324

1,651,915

Shareholders' equity[8]

764,493

719,334

Non-controlling interests

1,897

1,897

Total equity

766,390

721,231

Long-term borrowings

263,626

204,110

Retirement benefit obligations

40,247

35,052

Provision for non-current liabilities and charges

14,122

20,688

Deferred tax liabilities

20,939

17,780

Other non-current liabilities

6,817

5,313

Non-current liabilities

345,750

282,943

Short-term borrowings

32,648

74,332

Provisions for current liabilities and charges

34,638

34,763

Net trade payables and similar accounts

152,179

145,719

Gross amounts due to customers and advances and payments on account received

70,900

80,587

Current tax liabilities

54,971

42,467

Other current liabilities

278,694

269,874

Current liabilities

624,030

647,741

Liabilities directly associated with non-current
assets classified as held for sale